Courses

101: Introduction to Digital Technology & Culture (3 Credits) [ARTS]

Catalog Description
Inquiry into digital media, including origins, theories, forms, applications, and impact with a focus on authoring and critiquing multimodal texts.

Course Summary
DTC 101 will give you an overview of the department. You will learn how to think critically about media, technology, and its relationship to culture. Some past projects have included using Adobe SPARK to create content, creating and analyzing “Let’s Plays” videos, and more.

Syllabus Excerpt
“[DTC 101]… engages students in thinking about the history of digital technology, while also offering hands-on experience with digital tools. We will delve into questions about what makes something a technology and how we conceptualize our lives beyond the digital…”
– Excerpt from DTC 101 syllabus from Phillip Mudd, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Tri-Cities

201: Tools and Methods for Digital Technology (3 Credits) [ARTS]

Catalog Description
An introduction to the tools and methods of production for multimedia authoring in digital contexts.

Course Summary
DTC 201 will provide you with a basic understanding of the Adobe Creative Cloud applications. You’ll work on creating media that simultaneously critiques cultural phenomena.

Syllabus Excerpt
“Material covered will include an introduction of the technical considerations regarding digital image production, the use of vector and bitmap graphics, basic video and motion graphics production. Conceptual aspects of design and composition will also be covered with an emphasis on creative and critical thinking.”
– Excerpt from 201 syllabus written by Jacob Riddle, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

202: Internet Revolutions (3 Credits) [COMM]

Catalog Description
This course introduces students to the technologies and technical cultures that gave rise to the global information infrastructure supporting contemporary communication platforms.

Syllabus Excerpt
“Today, the Internet seems to be ubiquitous. Wireless signals fill the air and server farms crowd previously vacant lots. However, this ubiquity arises from a long lineage of early networks that predated communicating via computer. This course explores the technologies and technical cultures that gave rise to the global information infrastructure supporting our contemporary platforms paying special attention to diverse and non-textual modes of communication. The course is grounded in analyzing and understanding the ‘Nets that preceded the Internet to consider what alternative possibilities they hold for technological change in the future.”
– Excerpt from 202 syllabus

204: Introduction to Text Analysis (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Introduction to computational and statistical text analysis using the open source programming language R; designed for students with no prior experience with programming but who wish to extend their methodological tool kit to include quantitative and computational approaches to the study of text.

206: Digital Inclusion (3 Credits) [DIVR]

Catalog Description
Examination of the global reach of digital environments, structures, and tools with focus on inclusion in terms of access, availability, affordability, adoption, and application across cultures.

Syllabus Excerpt
Digital Inclusion takes as its starting point the need for the digital environment to be inclusive and equitable. The course examines the digital environment from web design to voting machines, from legal structures to diverse emoticons on social media platforms, and from broadband access to website domain name registration to see how inclusion and equity are imagined, put into action or undermined. The course will look at the rise of digital technology alongside cultural, social, and legal frameworks that defined a certain set of digital defaults that exclude as much as they attempt to include. Digital Inclusion will explore how to making connections in a global environment means unpacking the very tools we use to communicate, the ways in which digital platforms are built and who can and can’t use these tools, platforms, and systems.
– Excerpt from DTC 206 syllabus from Anna Plemons, Associate Professor, Career Track, & Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, WSU Tri-Cities

208: Introduction to Digital Cinema (3 Credits) [ARTS]

Catalog Description
A practical introduction to the technological and cultural transformations driving the evolution of cinematic techniques from the birth of motion pictures to emerging technology.

Instructor Quote
“In DTC 208 we explore cinema history by doing cinema history. For instance, one of the first assignments is to create a Thaumatrope, a pre-cinematic animation device. This exercise helps students to explore how still images evolved into moving images.”
– Ruth Gregory, Assistant Professor, Career Track & DTC Director of Undergraduate Studies, WSU Pullman

209: Visualizing Data (3 Credits) [COMM]

Catalog Description
Introduction to the tools and methods of visually communicating data for diverse audiences and scenarios.

301: Professional Preparation (3 Credits) [M]

Catalog Description
Development of materials and skills to prepare for entry into technology or media professions.

Expanded Course Description
In this course we spend a good amount of time working on professional development materials and skills like:

Resumes
Cover letters
Elevator pitches
Digital Portfolios
Information Interviews
And other professional phenomena

330: Social Media Case Studies (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Inquiry into ways businesses and individuals use social media as a marketing tool with special emphasis on media impact.

331: Social Media Practices (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Inquiry into social media practices from a ground-up approach, focusing on social media message creation and consumption; online self-presentation; online relationships; reputation management; social media data analysis.

Student Quotes
“It’s a philosophical approach to social media. It made me think about social media in a way I did not before I took it.” – Theo McBurney, DTC Student

“It’s really beneficial since social media is relevant in everyone’s life today.” – Sky Weschler, DTC Student

“This class was really eye opening and made me think differently about social media.” – Chike Nwankwo, DTC Student

335: 3D Digital Animation (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
3-D digital animation for creative and professional productions, art skills, storytelling and team problem-solving techniques.

Student Quote
“DTC 335 was probably one of my favorite classes that I was able to take through the DTC Department. This class also helped me realized my love for animation, film, and creating through different hands-on learning techniques. I would take this class over and over if I could. This is a class anyone can do, but yet it still challenges you.”
– Katie Pry, DTC Alumni

336: Multimedia Design (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Design practices and process for composing for a multimedia environment including color, pattern, and shape.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 201

Course Summary
DTC 336 will introduce you to fundamental elements and principles of design for a still 2D surface. The class has hands-on projects with both print and digital elements. A major goal of the course is to teach you to see and to describe in order to design.

338: Special Topics in Digital Technology and Culture (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Major trends or artists in digital technology and culture. May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 hours.

354: Digital Storytelling (3 Credits) [ARTS] [M]

Catalog Description
Nonlinear, multi-linear, and interactive narrative using elements of creative writing such as character, dialog, setting, plot and image.
(Crosslisted course offered as DTC 354, ENGLISH 354).

Course Summary
DTC 354 will teach you about a wide range of storytelling techniques and the role they have in culture through narrative elements such as character, dialog, and plot. You will use tools such as storyboards, sound composition, visual composition, and editing to create original projects.

Syllabus Excerpt
Digital Storytelling is a collaborative and experiment-driven course exploring digital media in relation to narrative, persuasion, and aesthetics. Beginning with historical, scientific, and craft contexts for analog storytelling, students will practice creating and adapting linear, multilinear, nonlinear, and fragmented narratives (both fiction and nonfiction) using a variety of techniques and platforms. Projects will include use of audio and video editing software, visual design skills, web based content, and principles of creative writing to engage audiences and encourage innovative thinking within the digital field.
– Excerpt from DTC 354 syllabus written by June T. Sanders, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

355: Introduction to Web Design and Development (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Introduction to design, development, and coding for the world wide web and interactive media.

Syllabus Excerpt
“This course introduces students to many aspects of designing and developing web sites. Topics include:

UI/UX visual and structural design
Basic HTML and CSS
Wireframing
Accessibility standards
and more.”

– Excerpt from DTC 355 syllabus by Tor de Vries, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

356: Information Structures (3 Credits) [M]

Catalog Description
Social and cultural role of information; research with electronic sources; production, validation, storage, retrieval, evaluation, use, impact of electronic information.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 101

Syllabus Excerpt
“ DTC 356 examines how the social, cultural, legal, economic, and political roles of information and data structures relate to research with and on electronic and digital sources and subjects. More specifically, it asks you to examine how the dominant cultural norms of information structures and digital research function, and how they influence our understandings of information, technology, ethics, and each other. Course topics include the production, validation, storage, retrieval, evaluation, coding, analysis, use, abuse, impact, and structuring of electronic research and digital information.”
-Excerpt from DTC 356 syllabus by Michelle Lee Brown, Assistant Professor, WSU Tri-Cities

375: Language, Texts and Technology (3 Credits)[M]

Catalog Description
Relationship between technology and communication; writing practices from a historical point of view.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 101

Course Description
This course will introduce students to theories and frameworks for identifying and interpreting the social, political, economic, and geographic forces that impact technological innovation. This course will also provide students with opportunities to use digital tools, technologies, and platforms in the creation of multimodal texts.
– Excerpt from DTC 375 syllabus written by Anna Plemons, Associate Professor, Career Track & Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, WSU Tri-Cities

392: Video Game Theories and Histories (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
History and theory of video games with a focus on innovation and cultural impact.

Syllabus Excerpt
“DTC 392 explores the cultural and historical impact of video games. Wewill learn about these issues by engaging in a semester-long project where we will prototype a video game. Video games are not just entertainment: they can be art, a form of political resistance, even a way to persuade other people. You’ll share your prototype with your fellow students, question each other’s assumptions, read research in game studies, and study gaming cultures.”
-Excerpt from DTC 392 syllabus by Avery Dame-Griff, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

435: Advanced Animation (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Advanced investigation of tools and methods for 2D and 3D digital animation.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 335

Instructor Quote
“In DTC 435 we build on the basic animation skills learned in DTC 335 through exploratory learning. This helps find which part of the animation process is most interesting to you.”
– Jacob Riddle, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

436: Advanced Multimedia Design (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Advanced design principles and projects in digital media; projects include visual, sound, haptic, and interactive experiences.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 336

Syllabus Excerpt
“Multimedia design production and consumption incorporates visual, linguistic, aural, gestural, spatial, and/or tactile components together. In this course, students explore design elements and principles related to the multimedia components which include typography, color, alignment, hierarchy, texture, layering, transparency, rhythm, balance, modularity, time, motion, interactivity and immersion. Through projects, readings, lectures, discussions, critiques, and writing activities, students explore the creation of advanced multimedia objects in 2D and 3D environments.”
-Excerpt from DTC 436 syllabus by June T. Sanders, Assistant Faculty, Career Track, WSU Pullman

475: Digital Diversity (3 Credits) [DIVR]

Catalog Description
Cultural impact of digital media in cultural contexts; issues of race, class, gender, sexuality online.

Syllabus Excerpt
“DTC 475 examines historical, rhetorical, and multiple cultural understandings of digital spaces and media forms.  We will consider how intersectional identities inform and impact one’s experience in digital space, focusing specifically on issues related to digital decolonization, Indigeneity, algorithmic bias, discriminatory design, and expressive epistemologies. One goal is to reframe our relationship with digital technologies to consider how they might be embedded within systems of oppression.  The other goal is experiencing how digital technologies have fostered the rich worlds of Afrofuturisms, African futurisms, and Indigenous Futurisms, and tracing how these emergences shape our future and futurity. ”
-Excerpt from a DTC 475 syllabus by Michelle Lee Brown, Assistant Professor, WSU Tri-Cities

476: Digital Strategies (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Examines multiple digital strategies for engagement with immersive and emerging technologies.

Syllabus Excerpt
“We will examine digital media history, research and critical engagement methods and standards, and contemporary media issues. We will look at issues of identity, ownership, power, surveillance, user experience & interaction, political & social discourse and the broader social and cognitive effects of digital media — within the realms of new media, social media, AI, gaming culture, UX & UI design, and other technological advances. We will also use this knowledge to theorize digital strategies and solutions to social issues via considerations of ethics, diversity, audience, and design.”
– Excerpt from DTC 476 syllabus from June T. Sanders, Assistant Professor, Career Track, WSU Pullman

477: Advanced Web Design and Development (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Advanced writing, imaging and teamwork skills for authoring in new computer-based media; website project in client-oriented context.

Prerequisite
DTC 355

Course Summary
DTC 477 will provide you with an introduction to advanced web design and interactive media topics including scripting using coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.

478: Usability and Interface Design (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Design of websites using best practices of visual literacy, interface architecture, and usability.

Prerequisite
DTC 355

Instructor Quote
“This is one of my favorite courses to teach. We work on UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) concepts, then we apply them in a service-oriented environment. The students are broken into small groups that work with regional community partners to test and redesign their existing websites. The students and the community partners get a lot out of the collaboration.”
– Ruth Gregory, Assistant Professor, Career Track, & Director of Undergraduate Studies, WSU Pullman

491: Advanced Digital Cinema (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
Exploration of advanced techniques, theories, and aesthetic strategies of cinema in the age of digital media.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 201 or 208

Instructor Quote
“This course builds off work we do in DTC 208. The big difference between DTC 491 and 208 is that 491 dives deeper into the technical skills associated with being a filmmaker in a variety of situations for diverse platforms.”
– Ruth Gregory, Assistant Professor, Career Track & Director of Undergraduate Studies, WSU Pullman

492: Engines and Platforms (3 Credits)

Catalog Description
A study of software platforms and engines used for media design, with special focus on intuitive tools, rapid work flow, multimedia platform environments, and asset management.

Course Prerequisite
DTC 355

Instructor Quote
“In DTC 492 we gain a deeper more critical understanding of video games through the play, study and creation of games.”
– Jacob Riddle, Assistant Professor, Career Track & WSU Pullman

497: Senior Seminar (3 Credits) [CAPS]

Catalog Description
Major multimedia project for nonprofit organization or small business with special focus on project management, planning, and execution.

Course Prerequisites
Completion of Junior Writing Portfolio; certified major in Digital Technology and Culture; senior standing.

498: Internship (1-6 Credits)

Catalog Description
Direct professional learning experiences in the area of digital media, technology, and culture. S, F grading. May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 hours.

Course Prerequisite
Admitted to the major in Digital Technology and Culture; junior standing.

Course Summary
Internships are recommended for DTC majors. Each 1 credit of the internship course is equivalent to 50 hours of work in the field.

499: Special Problems (1-4 Credits)

Catalog Description
Independent study conducted under the jurisdiction of an approving faculty member; may include independent research studies in technical or specialized problems; selection and analysis of specified readings; development of a creative project; or field experiences. S, F grading. May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 12 hours.